Leno Monologue

[globalvillage]

Jay Leno pointed out John Kerry's USA Today ad.
At the bottom of the ad:
"Paid for with my wife's ketchup money"
Hey, it's something.

[WildEyedLiberal]

1. Leno's kind of a whore

Someone needs to tell him that Kerry mocking is so 2004 - isn't obsolescence what comedians fear most?

[Withywindle]

2. Whores are OK in comedy

as long as they're funny.

Which Leno never has been, IMO. :thumbsdown:

[JI7]

4. i agree, i don't mind when Letterman or Jon Stewart make fun of him

but something about Leno i can't stand. it's like most of his "jokes" are just repeats of right wing talking points rather than anything else.

[ginnyinWI]

6. I hear ya

I have this viseral dislike of Leno for some reason--I can't stand to hear him talk, just like I can't stand to listen to Chimpy. I can watch the Chimp with the mute on, but his voice just fills me with revulsion. Ok not as bad with Leno, but still--there is something I instinctivly dislike about him too.


Which reminds me: I instinctively trusted Clinton when he came onto the scene, and actually voted for him in '92 while I was still a Repub. I guess that vote fortold my mid-life conversion to being a Democrat not long after. Glad I did! :) But it was the reverse of the instinctive revulsion described above. I do think that a lot of people decide their vote based on these kinds of feelings rather than logic.

[WildEyedLiberal]

7. Which is probably why the MSM wanted to show as little of JK as possible

Don't let people have that gut-level reaction of trust to him. Notice how marginalized Kerry was on the airwaves last year, while *'s ugly face was everywhere.

[karynnj]

8. I think you're right about wanting to minimize JK's exposure

I was surprised when I watched a C-SPAN primary campaign event. Especially the part where they filmed him from an angle where he was speaking into the camera, I was surprised the strength of my gut level reaction of trust. The CSPAN covered rallies at the end of the campaign could have made the difference if they got even the 5 minutes of unfiltered coverage routinely given to Bush. (Not to mention Bush got 2 long speeches covered as "major policy speeches" after he messed up the debates.)

I think he was even better at the Kennedy Center when he answered questions from Olyphant. It might have been the lack of pressure because it was after the election, that he trusted Olyphant or that he was before an obviously friendly home town crowd, but he seemed like he was giving the answers he would give if he were talking to a small group of friends he trusted.

[ginnyinWI]

9. Dean said something related to this

I saw him on Cspan on Sunday on American Politics, and it has really stuck with me. He was talking about the different demographic groups who vote, and the one that should vote Dem but doesn't is a group that is 27% of the voters (lower income and socially conservative) who have a high level of anxiety about their personal economic issues and about changing social/cultural norms as well, so they end up voting repub because of irrational fear that comes from many sources. The repubs play on these fears by hinting that they will do something about it, but really don't. Dean said that we can't get to these types with logic, but have to show that we understand and can connect with them emotionally.

This relates to what you said, because I think Kerry did have this ability to connect, but wasn't given nearly the exposure in the media that he needed. Typically CNN would carry a few minutes of a speech and then start talking over the audio. But he was giving the right message to people: "I've got your back", and things like that really did work. He should have gone to all 50 states, like Dean is saying now, and the Dem party should have had a stronger identity, but Kerry's message itself was right on target, if what Dean is advocating now is correct.

[globalvillage]

5. OK, but the Falwell bit was not too bad.

"upgraded from critical to judgemental"
When asked if he had an HMO, Falwell said "I condem that lifestyle".
OK, you're right. Pretty lame.

[wisteria]

3. At least it may draw attention to the ad.

I just wish the references to his wife's money would end. it really isn't fair.

[TayTay]

10. Yeah, and Leno owes him.

When Leno had a brain fart and took his show live to Boston for the final episode of "Cheers", Kerry was the only one who stayed sober. Everyone else on that show was drunk out of their minds. So Leno interviewed Kerry who then got the hell out of that place. Geez, give me a break.

Ingrate. (Leno, ferchrisssake, you were born in Andover, MA. Show some friggin class, ya bastard.)

[karynnj]

11. Were the rest of them at least funny drunks?

Were Leno and Kerry able to make the show watchable? I watched the last Cheers, but if I watched Leno, I have no memory of it.

[TayTay]

14. Yeah, but that was deeply baked

Who in their right mind arranges a live show for near mid-night in a working bar. That man has some serious shit-for-brains. My husband and I watched that live broadcast and we just knew that was trouble. They had all the regulars from the show hanging out and partying with the people on the streets and 'celebs' like Kerry. It was a time. (Retarded, but a time.)

[elshiva]

12. Dumb joke. Not insulting just stupid.

[WildEyedLiberal]

13. Which is Leno's problem

He's not even funny. His humor is more derivative than my Calculus homework.

[elshiva]

15. Yes! Kerry/Ketchup humor is typical stale Leno.

I like when he does the silly pictures and headlines bit, but that isn't him being funny, it's the newspapers, so I don't think he's that hot.